Force conducts Counter Terrorism Exercises
In support of the Commissioner's Operational Priorities on Terrorism, different Formations have conducted regular exercises to practise and enhance contingency plans. In November and December last year, Force members participated in three different counter terrorism exercises.
Operations Wing
A Force-level Counter Terrorism (CT) exercise, codenamed FREEWILLER, was conducted last November. The exercise, coordinated by the Counter Terrorism and Internal Security Division of Operations Wing, had two main objectives: firstly to assess the effectiveness of CT plans and procedures and the inter operability of units in conducting a proactive CT operation, and secondly to heighten the overall CT awareness and readiness of all the formations and units in the Force.
The exercise was a practical simulation exercise involving the deployment of officers on the ground to deal with a scenario of exercise targets entering Hong Kong to engage in terrorist activities. With the deployment of officers from all the Force's units with key CT responsibilities, including Special Duties Unit, Counter Terrorism Response Unit, Headquarters Command and Control Centre, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, Police Tactical Unit Headquarters, Police Negotiation Cadre, Criminal Intelligence Bureau and Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, the exercise offered a very good opportunity to practise CT response procedures and protocols over an extended period. Emergency Unit Hong Kong Island was also participated in the exercise at the latter stages, indicating that a CT operation may involve all the units in the Force including frontline officers.
The "Incident Commander", Assistant Commissioner (Operations) Wong Chi-hung, commented that the exercise was a major test of the Force's CT capability and showed that the Force was capable of facing the threat of global terrorism.
Kowloon East
Region
Kowloon East (KE) Regional Headquarters carried out an inter-departmental Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Exercise, codenamed "NEWCATCH", last December, with a view to enhancing capability to deal with a CBRN incident. The principal objective was to strengthen inter-departmental co-ordination as in the vast majority of major incidents the collaboration among Police, Fire Services (FSD) and the Hospital Authority (HA) will determine the success of the response to the incidents.
Over 100 officers took part in the exercise, including those from KE Regional Headquarters, Emergency Unit KE, Police Tactical Unit D Company, Traffic KE, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau (EOD), FSD and HA.
The exercise simulated that T KE was handling a traffic incident. EU KE later confirmed that it was a CBRN case and coordinated the rescue response while EOD handled the CBRN device. Firemen equipped with "Hazmat Pod" set up a zone for the decontamination of a large number of casualties while HA deployed a medical team to the scene to provide medical treatment.
Emphasis was placed on the setting up of a joint command post to ensure that all responding departments would work closely together.
At the conclusion of the exercise, KE Senior Superintendent B J Smith conducted an on-site debriefing and all parties agreed that many valuable lessons were learned.
Marine Region
As part of the Force's commitment to protection of facilities under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), an exercise was conducted last December at a Towngas Wharf to deal with a hostage-taking incident.
To comply with the ISPS Code, the Force conducts annual exercises at each Code location to test response and fine-tune contingency plans. The latest exercise simulated a hostage-taking incident in which several units were mobilised to rescue the hostage.
The Small Boat Division, Counter Terrorism Response Unit, Security Department of Towngas participated in the exercise with Marine North Division (MNDIV) taking overall command.
Speaking at the conclusion of the exercise, Divisional Commander MNDIV Bradley Wright said the exercise underscored the serious attitude the Force takes towards its commitments to protection of ISPS facilities as well as its role in CT response. Given Hong Kong's status as a major global shipping port, the security of ISPS facilities could not be underestimated and Marine Region was fully committed to ensuring that Hong Kong remained a safe and secure port, Mr Wright added.
The
Kowloon
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co-ordination
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CTRU
officers
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tactical
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